Computer operating systems frequently employ a graphical user interface (“GUI”) to convey information to users over a display by various combinations of graphical items, such as icons, text, drop-down menus, dialog boxes, and toolbars. A GUI provides an interface to the operating system, and to application programs running in conjunction with the operating system. The goal of most user interfaces is to provide a rich user experience where the user can quickly and easily access a wide variety of operating system and/or application program functions.
A powerful yet underutilized feature of the GUI in many word processing application programs is the style function, commonly referred to simply as “styles.” Styles are formatting instructions, grouped together under an assigned name, that apply a number of formatting attributes simultaneously to text to manage the overall appearance of a document. Styles may be applied to format words, sentences, text blocks, paragraphs, numbers lists and tables. Many word processing application programs, such as Microsoft® Word, apply a default style, i.e., “normal,” to new documents. The default normal style may for example format a document to include Times New Roman, 12pt, as the font, left justification, single line spacing, etc., although a user may vary the formatting attributes of the default normal style. Thus, styles are typically applied to a document even without the knowledge of the user. Microsoft® Word also includes a number of additional predefined styles that a user may apply, as well as the ability for users to create new, user-defined styles.
In Microsoft® Word, styles may for example be applied to a document from a styles pallet, such as for example the “Styles and Formatting” pane in the Windows version and from the “Styles” pane in the Formatting Palette in the Macintosh version. The styles pallet includes a listing of the predefined and user-defined styles, as well as an option to create new styles. A user may apply a style to a paragraph by positioning the cursor at or within that paragraph, and then selecting the desired style. Similarly, a user may apply a style to selected text by selecting (highlighting) a text block and then selecting the desired style from the pane. The pane may also include a window for displaying the style name applied to the text where the cursor is positioned.
The use of styles to format documents may be distinguished from direct formatting, where text is formatted using individual features from the GUI toolbars and menus (e.g., bold, justification, font, color, etc). The use of styles presents advantages over direct formatting, in that styles can affect a variety of attribute formatting with a single keystroke or mouse click. Moreover, with styles, it is easier to make formatting changes. With styles, by changing the style in the Word UI, the appearance of text is changed throughout the document wherever that style is applied. With direct formatting, the changes must be manually made throughout the document.
Despite the advantages of styles, the feature is often underutilized. It would be beneficial to provide an easy entry toward understanding the application and operation of styles. Moreover, when using styles, it may be difficult to discern which styles are applied to which sections of a document, especially in larger documents. Aside from positioning the cursor at a given location to see which style is highlighted or displayed in the styles pallet, there is no visual aid to determining which styles are applied to which sections of a document.